Ben Platt stars as the title character in the world premiere of the musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Margot Schulman
/ Courtesy of Arena Stage

Listen

Listening...

/

Originally published on August 14, 2015 6:08 pm

An anxious, awkward teenager, social media, suicide. These are the themes at play in a new musical at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The production has garnered praise from both the New York Times ("sweet, sad and quite moving") and the Washington Post (which said it "radiates charm and wit)." They're not the only ones buzzing about it — this play about human behavior in the digital age will head to New York's Second Stage Theater next spring.

In Dear Evan Hansen teenage self-loathing is both funny and painful to watch. The title character is stuttering and compulsively apologetic, but his struggle to make friends is something lots of people can relate to. "Evan Hansen has a lot of trouble connecting to people," says Ben Platt, who plays the role, "especially in this age of social media where it's very easy for your thoughts to be immediately shared with everyone, and for everything that you say to be criticized and judged and talked about. If he had it his way, I don't think he would say anything to anyone and so that only adds to his anxiety."

Evan Hansen is a character you feel sorry for, but at the same time, he's no angel. He gets hopelessly tangled in a web of lies after a student at his school (who was something of an outcast) commits suicide. Evan realizes that he can get attention by pretending to have been that student's close friend, so he creates fake emails between himself and Connor — the kid who killed himself — he gives a speech about their fake friendship at a school assembly, he even attempts to use the circumstances to connect with a girl he has a crush on.

Songwriter Benj Pasek says he was inspired by a real event from his own high school experience. "There was a student who was sort of an anonymous student," recalls Pasek, "and over the summer, he passed away from a drug overdose. And when we all came back to school the next year, he became a sort of sensational figure. After his death, basically everyone claimed him to be their friend. And we were really interested in why psychologically people were doing that."

Getting Dear Evan Hansen to this point took several years. The show got off the ground when Broadway producer Stacey Mindich encouraged Pasek and Justin Paul to write a show they hadn't seen before. Then there was the casting. To play Evan Hansen, Pasek and Paul needed a performer who would exhibit both keen emotional instincts as an actor and great range as a singer. He also had to be young.

The pair had met Ben Platt when he auditioned for their show Dogfight. He didn't get that part, but his skill was evident. "At the time he was maybe around 17 years old," says Paul. "He was auditioning to be a Marine who was ... 19 or 20. And he was a little bit young for the role, but we saw him come into the audition and deliver this incredible performance ... And I think we all, behind the table at that casting session, looked at each other and were like, 'This guy is ... a really singular, special talent.'" When Evan Hanson rolled around "he was a perfect fit for the role," says Paul. "And before even auditioning anybody or seeing anybody else in the role, we knew that we wanted to see how Ben Platt interpreted Evan Hansen."

Platt, now 21, has scored coveted roles in many projects. He began his singing career at age 11 and went on to star as Elder Cunningham in a national tour and a Broadway production of TheBook of Mormon. He also played Benji in the movies Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2. He says originating the role of Evan Hansen is his "favorite" professional experience so far.

"Ben is a really, really smart guy, a smart young man," says Paul. "I think to be as instinctive as he is as an actor, it just requires you to really be able to look at ... human behavior and view it from the outside, and understand how people work."

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

An anxious, awkward teenager, social media and suicide - these are the themes in the new musical titled "Dear Evan Hansen." It's getting a lot of buzz right now at Arena Stage here in Washington, D.C. Sweet, sad and quite moving says The New York Times. According to The Washington Post, it radiates with charm and wit. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports on this new show that explores human behavior in the digital age.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: In "Dear Evan Hansen," teenage self-loathing is both funny and painful to watch.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "DEAR EVAN HANSEN")

LAURA DREYFUSS: (As Zoe) I'm Zoe.

BEN PLATT: (As Evan) Yes - no, I know.

DREYFUSS: (As Zoe) You know?

PLATT: (As Evan) No, no, no. Sorry. I just, I mean - I just - I've seen you play guitar in jazz band. I love jazz band. I love jazz. Well, not all jazz but definitely, like, jazz-band jazz. That's so weird. I'm sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

BLAIR: Evan Hansen is definitely on the high end of awkward. But actor Ben Platt who plays Evan says he's also like a lot of people who struggle to make friends.

PLATT: Evan Hansen has a lot of trouble connecting to people, especially in this age of social media where it's very easy for your thoughts to be immediately shared with everyone and for everything that you say to be criticized and judged and talked about. If he had it his way, I don't think he would say anything to anyone. And so that only adds to sort of his anxiety.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "DEAR EVAN HANSEN")

PLATT: (As Evan, Singing) I've learned to slam on the break before I even turn the key, before I make the mistake, before I lead with the worst of me. Give them no reason to stare. No slipping up if you slip away.

BLAIR: The music and lyrics were written by the Tony-nominated songwriters Benj Pasak and Justin Paul. Evan Hansen is a character you feel sorry for, but at the same time, he's no angel. He gets tangled in a web of lies of his own making. The story is set in motion when a student at Hansen's school commits suicide. That student was also something of an outcast. Evan realizes a way to get attention is to pretend to have been the student's close friend. The story's inspired by a real event that happened when songwriter Benj Pasak was in high school.

BENJ PASAK: There was a student who was sort of an anonymous student. Nobody was particularly that close to him, and over the summer, he passed away from a drug overdose, actually. And when we all came back to school the next year, he became a sort of sensational figure. After his death, basically everyone claimed him to be their friend. And we were really interested in why, psychologically, people were doing that.

BLAIR: In the show, Evan creates fake emails between him and Connor, the kid who killed himself. He gives a speech about his fake friendship at a school assembly. Connor's sister doesn't understand. After all, her brother seemed to have no friends when he was alive.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "DEAR EVAN HANSEN")

DREYFUSS: (As Zoe) Alana put a copy of your speech online, and people started sharing it, I guess. And, I mean, it's everywhere. People from all over the country are talking about Connor. Yesterday, he had 56 friends on here.

PLATT: (As Evan) OK, well, how many does he have now?

DREYFUSS: (As Zoe) 1,239.

BLAIR: Evan's scheme gets even more elaborate.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "DEAR EVAN HANSEN")

PLATT: (As Evan, Singing) Maybe it's possible. Nobody else but the two of us here say that it's possible.

DREYFUSS: (As Zoe, Singing) We could just watch the whole world disappear.

BLAIR: Getting "Dear Evan Hansen" to this point took several years. The show got off the ground when Broadway producer Stacey Mindich encouraged Pasek and Paul to write a show they hadn't seen before. Then Arena Stage in Washington stepped up to produce it. Next spring, it'll head to New York Second Stage Theater. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "DEAR EVAN HANSEN")

PLATT: (As Evan, Singing) We start with stars in our eyes. We start believing that we belong. But every sun doesn't rise, and no one tells you where you went wrong. Step out. Step out of the sun if you keep getting burned. Step out. Step out of the sun because you've learned, because you've learned. On the outside, always looking in - will I ever be more... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.